This photo shows the cost of a gallon of gas Monday morning at Speedway in Hillsboro.
Jacob Clary | The Times-Gazette
Gas prices statewide and countrywide have risen due to possible storms in the Midwest, according to statistics and news releases from the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Concerning Hillsboro, gas prices actually went up significantly since the last time The Times-Gazette did a gas prices report, with the lowest price per gallon seen in Hillsboro being $3.49.
Ohio had a highly pronounced rise, coming in with the 14th highest gas price of all of the states in the country plus Washington, D.C. The site said Ohio’s average price per gallon was $3.563 as of Monday. That is a significant climb from only one week ago when the price per gallon was $3.479, according to AAA.
“Some of the uptick in gasoline prices may be due to a reported storm-related outage at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois. That’s contributing to higher pump prices in the upper Midwest,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said. “Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen quite a bit lately. In April, a barrel of oil was in the upper $80s, but today, it is $10 a barrel cheaper. That might mitigate any upward pressure on pump prices.”
That climb was also seen countrywide, according to AAA, though in a less significant manner. AAA statistics for the national gas prices, updated on Monday, showed that the current gas price was $3.505 across the country, with that average up very from $3.496 one month ago.
“According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose unexpectedly from 8.78 million b/d to 9.45 last week,” the AAA release said. “Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 233 to 227.4 million barrels. Gasoline production rose last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day. Higher gasoline demand but lower oil costs may keep pump prices relatively stable for now.”
The lowest area gas prices, according to GasBuddy on Monday, were:
*Chillicothe — The lowest price was $3.45 at Sam’s Club.
*Greenfield — The lowest price was $3.66 at Marathon.
*Hillsboro — The lowest price was $3.49 at Murphy USA.
*Mount Orab — The lowest price was $3.29 at multiple places.
*Wilmington — The lowest price was $3.39 at Shop&Go.
Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.
